Fall Throwing Program Recap – Oh My!

Fall session produced the results that our young clients wanted…more VELOCITY! Four clients ages 12 – 15 increased their max velocity by six miles per hour. That’s an 8-12% increase across the 10 week program we began September 5th.

If you asked a random ball player how much they’d give to get a performance bump like that, you’d get a wide-eyed look of disbelief. Most players don’t realize what impassioned, properly directed intent can do. Congratulations to our young clients that are becoming what they want to be!
Alex crossed the 80 mph barrier and gained 7mph this Fall.

How’d That Happen?

The results came the DSP-way:

Prepare the Body – The top velocity increases were realized by those that also immersed themselves in our kettlebell-based strength and mobility protocol. There are no shortcuts!

Prepare the Mind – Ask our young clients about the importance of relaxation and how to induce it using time-tested evidence-based methods. This is life changing gold that separates great from good.

Respect the Individual – Each client learned to work on their own to address their own constraints. It’s organized chaos in the studio, just the way we like it!

Passionate Process – Our staff loves what we teach and who we teach. There is a wonderful symbiotic relationship between trainers and clients that make each other better.

DSP Intern Rocks!

A special thanks goes out to Octavio Orona who made his debut as a DSP Baseball intern this Fall. Octavio, a senior outfielder on the TC Williams High School team, did a GREAT job working with the young clients.

He is the poster-boy for what desire and adherence to process can do. He brought that same tenacity as a trainer this Fall. Check out the blog on what he did as a client last year… 12 MPH in five weeks!

Thanks to Octavio’s focussed intent and perseverance, he now has two colleges that have asked him to play on their squad next year. Way to go Octavio! We are immensely proud of you for being a leader by example!

I’m Giddy!

As great gains in velocity roll in throughout the year, the staff and I remain unsatisfied. It is not enough to gain velocity across a short period of time. These are young athletes and if there is one trait all young athletes share it’s that they all move inefficiently.

Clients and parents, please read and absorb these words: Results are insufficient and can be toxic. We must get our clients to move efficiently as regular humans and as super ball players. Short of that threshold, they will be asked to leave the game they love far before they’re ready as injury or lack if performance bites them.

Heed my words; beware results that don’t include or are at the expense of a never-ending holistic process of preparation.

While it is fun to hear reports of clients on the hill crushing it, usually I’m unable to enjoy the moment. I know what evil lurks behind the box scores.

Human nature is to focus on the environment in front of us, game results for instance, to determine if we should be happy or not. That is, great feelings from “great” game results. Bad feelings follow “bad” game results. That’s a subtle but powerful trap that can stymie growth.

We teach our clients to reject the typical and strive for good feelings regardless of game results. Enlightenment take a lifetime but why not start now?

Folks, we need impassioned adherence to process. Damned the short term results.

I showed one of my favorite quotes to the boys last week:

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat both as impostors, you will be a balanced man.”

Kipling

These 12 year olds are wiser than they often get credit. One told me that people question why he keeps working out at DSP since he is already enjoys a lot of success in games. I got giddy when he shook his head with disgust as if to shake that dirt clod of wrong-headedness out of his psyche.

These young DSP student-teachers are learning that “good” game results are fleeting and uncontrollable. They are young but are realizing inch by inch that their challenge is to be in the game but don’t play the game the way others do.

Keep the faith. Trust the process. Keep learning.

Love (rant) is All You Need

I love that DSP exists.
I love that Darius’ energy permeates the studio and the souls that enter it.
I love that young athletes have an oasis in a desert of ignorance.
I love that both my children are involved in DSP.
I love that DSP provides solutions for people in physical and emotional pain.
I love that baseball is the great platform to teach and learn about the Ways.
I love that the best is yet to come…